Yahoo Exits South Korea After 15 Years In Service

Yahoo has completed its exit from South Korea after servicing customers in the country for 15 years. As Yahoo continues to re-evaluate its market placements, South Korea has become the first Asian market to lose Yahoo support.

Yahoo announced earlier in the month that it would shudder the search and content portal on December 31, 2012. Visiting the Yahoo South Korea website was marked with a shut down notice for all customers.

CEO Marissa Mayer announced in October that Yahoo would pull out of South Korea before the end of 2012. During her announcement, Mayer fired 200 workers in the country.

In her decision to close down South Korea operations, Mayer said:

“This decision is part of our efforts to streamline operations and focus our resources on building a stronger global business that’s set up for long-term growth and success.”

Yahoo was not a major player in the South Korean market where competitors NHN and Daum Communications ruled the market. In fact, Yahoo South Korea controlled less than one percent of the country’s search market.

While Yahoo’s main property still exists in other Asian countries, the search giant has shut down some non-core services such as its Chinese music service.

South Korea has been a tough nut to crack; the countries citizens tend to gather around South Korean companies. For example, Motorola and HTC pulled out of the region as local favorites Samsung and LG continually cannibalized sales of foreign smartphone manufacturers.

Are you surprised by Yahoo’s decision to exit the South Korean market, or was this move long overdue?